Sewing machine



March 27, 1934. B NEWHALL 1,952,772

SEWING MACHINE Filed NOV. 30, 1952 Patented Mar. 27, 1934 UNi'ri-:D STATES PAT i, QFFHCE SEWING MACHINE Application November 30, 1932, Serial No. 644,992

11 Claims.

The present invention relates to sewing machines, and is herein shown and described as embodied in a machine for lasting stitchdown shoes similar to that disclosed in the U. S. patent to Leveque No. 1,864,510 dated June 21, 1932 in which a straight eye-pointed needle is employed with a loop taker to form a chain-stitch seam.

The objects of the invention are to provide a simple and reliable arrangement of parts which will facilitate assembling and adjusting a chainstitch sewing machine, particularly with reference to the position of the loop taker relative to the needle path and to improve the construction and arrangement of parts of machines for lasting stitchdown shoes and also to provide certain improved devices and combinations of devices in machines of this type which are also capable of advantageous use in machines for forming seams .in other classes of work.

It is necessary in chain-stitch sewing machines employing a rotary loop taker to position the loop taker accurately relative to the path of movement of the needle so that the needle thread will be surely and reliably received by the loop taker. In machines of this type the main driving pulley for the machine frequently is mounted on the shaft for supporting a loop taker, and in the machine disclosed in the patent to Leveque, the position of the loop taker relative to the needle path is adjusted by arranging spacers of suitable thickness between the end of the drive shaft and the loop taker.

An important feature of the present invention contemplates the provision in a sewing machine having a main driving shaft which carries the loop taker and on which the main driving means is mounted, of means for adjusting the loop taker in proper operating relation to the needle by moving the main driving shaft as a whole in a longitudinal direction. In the present embodiment of this feature of the invention, the main driving shaft .is mounted in bearings arranged between the shaft and a sleeve supported in the frame of the machine, which'sleeve is adjustable in a direction longitudinally of the shaft. To adjust the sleeve, in the construction shown, a transverse slot is formed in the sleeve, which slot is engaged by the eccentric portion of a short shaft rotatable in the machine frame, the outer end of the shaft 50 being provided with means for rotating the shaft and for clamping it in fixed position.

According to another feature of the invention the driving pulleyis looselymounted on the shaft and clutching means is arranged to couple the 55 driving pulley with the shaft for driving the machine, the construction being such that the driving shaft and bearings together with the clutch and the pulley may readily be removed from the machine as a unit. As hereinafter described, the clutch and bearing unit may be dismantled for repairs or replacements of parts by removing a single nut threaded at the end of the shaft which holds the parts and bearings in Xed position longitudinally of the shaft.

Other features of the invention consist in certain constructions, combinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter described and claimed, the advantages of which will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description and accompanying drawing in which Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a portion of the machine embodying the features of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a View in section of a portion of the main driving shaft of the machine and certain associated parts; and Fig. 3 is a View in section taken along the line 3 of Fig. 1.

The machine illustrated in the drawing comprises a main frame 2, supporting a reciprocating straight eye-pointed needle 4, and a rotating loop taker 6, of familiar design, having a thread engaging beak 8. The ioop taker is fixed upon one end of the main driving shaft 10 of the machine and co-operates with the needle to form a. single thread chain-stitch. The needle is reciprocated by means of a crank portion 12 formed on the drive shaft i0, and connections including a connecting rod 14 and levers for transmitting the reciprocating movement imparted to the connecting rod 14 to the needle, this mechanism being the same as described in the Leveque patent, above referred to. The shoe is supported and fed past the point of operation of the needle by a Work support 16 and Work engaging rolls 18 and 20 of which the roll 18 rotates on the driving shaft 10. The driving shaft is rotated from any suitable source of power by a driving pulley 22 on the rear end of the shaft and a hand wheel 24 is fixed to the shaft to permit manual rotation. The other parts of the machine, except as hereinafter described, are substantially the same, and operate in substantially the same manner as in the machine disclosed in the patent referred to.

According to the present invention, the main driving shaft 10 may be shifted longitudinally to adjust the relative positions of the beak 8 of the loop taker and the needle 4. The shaft 10 is rotatably mounted at its forward end in an or dinary radial type bearing and at an intermerate adjustment of the loop taker.

` collar and the clutch member.

diate portion by ball thrust bearings 26 and 28 supported within a sleeve 30. The thrust bearing 26 is seciu'ed within the sleeve by means of a collar 31 clamped against the outer raceway of the bearing to hold it in place. The sleeve 3U is slidably mounted in a passage at the rear of the main frame 2 to permit adjustment and is held in place by the inner end of a short shaft v32 which enters a transverse slot 34 formed in one side of the sleeve. The shaft 32 is formed with an eccentric portion at the inner end which engages a block 36 sliding loosely in the slot 34 of the sleeve, and means is provided for forcing the shaft 32 against the block 36 to clamp the sleeve in place inn the frame.

The clamping means for xing the position of the sleeve comprises a pair of studs (38 passing through arcuate slots formed in a disc shaped gear member 46 on the outer end of the shaft 32. The inner ends'of the studs are threaded into the frame 2 so that when nuts 41 on the outer ends of the studs are turned down into engagement with the gear portion 40, the sleeve is clamped in place.

The loop taker is adjusted relative to the needle path by rotating the shaft 32 and causing the eccentric portion to shift the sleeve by the engagement of the sides of the block 36 with the sides of the slot in the sleeve. The gear 40 on the shaft 32 is rotated by the engagement of a Worm 42 fixed to an oblique shaft 44 having bearings in a bracket 46 surrounding the shaft 32. The bracket 46 is perforated and secured to the machine frame by the studs 38 which are formed with shoulders to engage the edges of the perforations in the bracket 46. The upper end of the shaft 44 is shaped to receive a wrench, so that the shaft 32 may be rotated through the reduced motion mechanism thus provided, at an extremely slow rate, thus permitting an accu- After adjustment, the sleeve 30 is securely clamped in place by the nuts 41 on the studs 38 and also by a bolt 48 passing through a split bearing surf rounding the shaft 44.

The driving means for the machine, as illustrated, acts to rotate the pulley 22 which is rotatably mounted directly on a reduced part of the driving shaft 10 by ball bearings 50, 52 so that relative positions of the pulley and shaft will not be changed and the shaft may be coupled to the pulley 22 by shifting the driven clutch member 54 supported on a spacing sleeve 56 carried by the shaft 10. The driven clutch member 54 is formed with a cone clutching surface cooperating with a similar surface within the pulley 22 and provided with projections 58 engaging slots formed in the hub of the hand wheel 24. The hand wheel being keyed to the shaft, movement of the driven clutch member 54v against the pulley 22 causes the main shaft to be rotated.

The driven clutch member is shifted towards and from engagement with the pulley 22 by a yoke 60 pivotally mounted at 61 on a bracket 62 and connected by means of set screws 64 with a clutch collar 66 surrounding a reduced portion of the driven clutch member 54, a ball thrust bearing 68 being provided between the clutch The driven clutch member 54 is actuated to engage the pulley by an arm 70 Xed to the pivot 61 which carries the yoke 60 and a rod 72 which corresponds to the foot treadle rod of the machine described Ain the patent to Leveque. When the treadle is depressed, a collar 73 secured to the rod engages the upper surface of the free end of the arm '70, causing the clutch to be engaged. Upon release of the treadle, the arm 'l0 is raised and the clutch disengaged by a compression spring 74 acting between the arm l0 and a portion of the bracket 62.

The clutch and bearing parts, as herein illustrated, are held together by means of nuts '76 threaded to the end of the shaft 10, spacing sleeves 56, and 82 and a spacing washer 83 for maintaining the proper relation between the bearings. The nuts 76 act, when turned, through the sleeves and washer to force the thrust bearing 26 against a shoulder adjacent the crank portion 12 of the shaft 10 and after assembling to hold the parts in their respective clamped positions, so that when the sleeve with the driving shaft and clutch assembled are removed from the machine, the unit may conveniently be disassembled.

The clutch is so arranged that if the loop taker is adjusted to rotate closely to the needle while the machine is running the adjustment may be retained regardless of Wear or inequalities in the thrust bearings within the sleeve 30, since the movement of the yoke 60 imparts a thrust to the shaft 10 in a direction which would tend to cause the loop taker 6 to approach the needle path. Upon release of the treadle, any possible looseness in the thrust bearing 26 would have a tendency to permit end play of the shaft 10 in a direction to cause the loop taker to move away from the needle path, thus preventing interference of the loop taker with the needle as might occur if loose endwise movement of the shaft took place in the opposite direction during the final movements of the machine after the treadle is released.

The nature and scope of the invention having been indicated, and a machine embodying the several features of the present invention having been specifically described, what is claimed is:

1. A chain stitch sewing machine having, in combination, a main frame, an eye-pointed needle, a loop taker, a drive shaft for the machine on which the loop taker is mounted, bearings for said drive shaft in the machine frame, a connection between the drive shaft and the needle for operating the needle, an ladjusting member mounted in the frame acting when actuated to adjust the drive shaft longitudinally to position the loop taker in proper operating relation to the needle.

2. A chain stitch sewing machine having, in

combination, a main frame, an eye-pointed needle, a loop taker, a drive shaft for the machine on which the loop taker is mounted, bearings for said drive shaft in the machine frame, a connection between the drive shaft and the needle for operating the needle, a driving pulley rotatably mounted on the drive shaft, a driven clutch member shiftable along the drive shaft for engagement or disengagement with the driving pulley, and means mounted in the frame for adjusting the drive shaft with the driving pulley longitudinally to position the loop taker in proper operating relation to the needle.

3. A chain stitch sewing machine having, in combination, a main frame, an eye-pointed needle, a loop taker, a shaft on which the loop taker is mounted, bearings for the shaft in the machine comprising a sleeve slidably arranged in the frame and a thrust resisting bearing element between the shaft and the sleeve, and means mounted in the frame for adjusting the sleeve to position the loop taker in proper operating relation to the needle.

4. A chain stitch sewing machine having, in combination, a main frame, an eye-pointed needle, a loop taker, a shaft on which the loop taker is mounted, bearings for the shaft in the machine comprising a sleeve having a transverse slot slidably arranged in the frame and a thrust resisting bearing element between the shaft and the sleeve, and a shaft rotatable in the machine frame having an eccentric portion entering the slot in said sleeve to position the loop taker in proper operating relation to the needle.

5. A chain stitch sewing machine having, in combination, a main frame, an eye-pointed needle, a loop taker, a shaft for the machine on which the loop taker is mounted, bearings for the shaft in the machine comprising a sleeve having a transverse slot slidably arranged in the frame and a thrust resisting bearing element between the shaft and the sleeve, a shaft rotatable in the machine frame having an eccentric portion entering the slot in said sleeve, and means for releasably securing said last mentioned shaft to the machine frame to maintain the looper in proper operating relation to the needle.

6. A chain stitch sewing machine having, in combination, a main frame, an eye-pointed needle, a loop taker, a shaft on which the loop taker is mounted, bearings for the shaft in the machine comprising a sleeve. having a transverse slot slidably arranged in the frame and a thrust resisting bearing element between the shaft and the sleeve, an adjusting shaft rotatable in the machine frame having an eccentric portion entering the slot in said sleeve, a disk on the adjusting shaft, and clamping means engaging the disk for causing the adjusting shaft to be thrust towards the sleeve and secured in fixed position in the machine frame.

'7; A chain stitch sewing machine having, in combination, a main frame, an eye-pointed needle, a loop taker, a shaft on which the loop taker is mounted, bearings for the shaft in the machine comprising a sleeve having a transverse slot slidably arranged in the frame, and a thrust resisting bearing element between the shaft and the sleeve, a block in the slot of the sleeve, an adjusting shaft having an eccentric portion engaging said block, and means for rotating said adjusting shaft to adjust the position of the loop taker into proper relation with the needle and for shifting the adjusting shaft lengthwise to clamp the block against the sleeve.

8. A chain stitch sewing machine having, in combination, a main frame, an eye-pointed needle, a loop taker, a drive shaft for the loopl taker having a crank portion for operating the needle, a sleeve having a transverse slot arranged to slide within the frame and a thrust resisting bearing element between the shaft and the sleeve, a

driving pulley rotatable on the shaft, a driven clutch member slidable on the shaft towards and from engagement with the driving pulley, bearings for the pulley and driven clutch member, and means comprising a nut threaded on the end of the shaft which extends through the bearings for maintaining all of the bearings in fixed relation longitudinally of the shaft.

9. A chain stitch sewing machine having, in combination, a main frame, an eye-pointed needle, a loop taker, a drive shaft for the loop taker having a central crank portion for operating the needle, a sleeve arranged to slide within the frame and a thrust resisting bearing between the shaft and the sleeve, a driving pulley rotatable on the shaft, a driven clutch member slidable on the shaft towards and from engagement with the driving pulley, ball bearings for the pulley and driven clutch member, a hand wheel at one end of the shaft, and means comprising a nut threaded on the end of the shaft which extends through the bearings, and a plurality of spacing sleeves for maintaining the hand wheel and all of the bearings in fixed relation longitudinally of the shaft.

l0. A chain stitch sewing machine having, in combination, a main frame, an eye-pointed needle, a loop taker having a thread engaging beak, a drive shaft for the machine on which the loop taker is mounted, bearings for said drive shaft 105 in the machine frame, a connection between the drive shaft and the needle for operating the needle, a driving pulley on said shaft, a bearing for said driving pully to prevent movement of the pulley longitudinally of the shaft, a sliding clutch 110 member arranged to rotate with the shaft for driving the shaft through engagement with the driving pulley, and clutch actuating means for forcing the sliding member along the shaft in a direction tending to cause the loop taker beak to approach more closely the needle path in engaging the said member with the driving pulley.

11. A chain stitch sewing machine having, in combination. a main frame. an eye-pointed needle, a loop taker having a thread engaging beak, a drive shaft for the machine on which the loop taker is mounted, bearings for said drive shaft in the machine frame, a connection between the drive shaft and the needle for operating the needle, a driving pulley on said shaft, a bearing 125 for said driving pulley to prevent movement of the pulley longitudinally of the shaft, a sliding member arranged to rotate with the shaft for driving the shaft through engagement with the driving pulley, a lever fulcrumed on the machine frame engaging the sliding member, and foot operated means for actuating the lever to force the sliding member along the shaft in a direction Which will tend to cause the loop taker beak to approach more closely the needle path in engag- 135 ing the driving member with the driving pulley.

HERBERT B. NEVVHALL. 

